Genesis Scottish Open | The debrief

Everything you need to know from last week's Genesis Scottish Open.

Gotterup holds off McIlroy for Rolex Series glory

Chris Gotterup showed calmness and quality to hold off Rory McIlroy by two shots and claim the Genesis Scottish Open.

The 25-year-old shared the third-round lead with the World Number Two and the pair went toe-to-toe in their bid for a Rolex Series victory at the Renaissance Club.

McIlroy led by one at the fifth but after a birdie at the eighth, he endured a barren run of ten straight pars to open the door for his American rival.

Gotterup took full advantage with birdies at the eighth, tenth and 12th to open up a two-shot lead, only to bogey the 15th.

However, he bounced back with a birdie at the next to re-establish his lead before parring his way home to secure his maiden DP World Tour title and earn a place in the Open Championship at Royal Portrush.

"I played really well this week, and I knew today was going to be tough. I hung in there like a champ and finished it off in style," he said.

"I was a one-time champion. Two-time champ sounds a lot better. I know what I'm capable of and I know when I feel the way I did today, I can beat the best. It's just awesome."

Another close shave for McIlroy

McIroy won the event by a whisker in 2023 and missed out by a narrow margin this year but those are not the close shaves that were making the headlines.

The World Number Two turned up in Scotland with a new cropped haircut. The curls for which he was known in his early career have been gone for a while but this is his shortest trim yet.

Return of a familar face

Renowned caddie Billy Foster was back on a DP World Tour range as he teamed with Collin Morikawa.

Morikawa split with long-time bagman JJ Jakovac earlier this year and briefly linked up with Max Homa's former caddie Joe Greiner before having KK Limbhasut on the bag at the recent Rocket Classic.

Foster - one of the best known caddies on the DP World Tour having worked for Seve Ballesteros and Lee Westwood among others - split from Matt Fitzpatrick, with whom he won his long-awaited first Major Championship at the 2022 U.S. Open, in March.

The duo missed the cut but will have another shot at it at The Open Championship before the temporary partnership is due to come to an end.

Haar no laughing matter

On Saturday at Renaissance it was like we had two different golf courses.

By the clubhouse and around the majority of the course, fans and players alike were enjoying glorious sunshie but down by the coast on the 12th, 13th and 14th it was a different story.

That was because a haar - or fret - had come in off the sea, briefly engulfing those holes in a dense fog.

"A sea haar occurs when warm air overrides the cold North Sea," said Genesis Scottish Open meteorologist Craig Mroczka. "You get warm air being pulled up overriding cold air over the sea and that causes the water to condense.

"It almost seems like we're in two different areas, it's a different world down there on the coast and when you get here to the clubhouse it's beautiful."

The haar was of such concern that tee times had to be moved on Sunday but by the time it came, the players were luckily well inland.

Double delight as Nico Echavarria makes an ace

Nico Echavarria made a hole-in-one on the sixth in the final round to win himself a Genesis GV60 and a lucky fan the trip of a lifetime.

The Colombian holed a 60-degree wedge from 121 yards on the Stadium Hole to send the fans wild, but one fan was particularly lucky after winning a trip to the 2025 Genesis Championship in Korea.

The fan had to predict that Echavarria would make an ace and they will now head to the final event of the Back 9 on a hospitality package for two.

The man himself, meanwhile, drove away from the Renaissance Club in a brand new Genesis.

That was not the only ace of the week, Romain Langasque also made one on the 12th.

A pro-am pairing to remember

Many pro-ams have footballers, quite a few feature fathers and sons and all include caddies - but you don't often get them all at once.

Well on Wednesday we had Real Madrid great Raul playing in the pro-am with fellow Spaniard Eugenio Chacarra, whose caddie is Raul's son Hugo.

“It’s been a crazy day,” said Hugo. “I wouldn’t have imagined this six or seven months ago when I started caddying that I would be here on this course caddying for Eugenio and playing with my dad.

“I’m never going to forget this.”

Every event should have an Oscar

Jamie Aitken has many important responisbilities at Renaissance as the man responsible for keeping the links in tip top shape.

But his most important job is being owner of Oscar, the club's unofficial mascot, who you may just see sat on the back of a buggy if you ever find yourself at the course.

He's a very, very good boy.